Anatomical information of the lenticulostriate arteries on high-resolution 3D-TOF MRA at 3 T: comparison with 3D-DSA

Purpose As the lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs) perfuse neurologically important areas, it is necessary to accurately assess the origin and number of the LSAs before surgery. Although three-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography (3D-TOF MRA) is a non-invasive procedure, it requires high-resolution (HR) images to depict the LSAs with a small diameter. Therefore, we performed 3D-TOF MRA with the maximum HR (HR-MRA) using a 3 T scanner to examine whether a good depiction of the LSAs, equivalent to that of digital subtraction angiography (DSA), could be obtained. Methods Our study group comprised 16 consecutive patients who underwent HR-MRA and 3D-DSA. In both studies, we evaluated the localization of the origin from M1, M2, or A1 segments, their number of stems, and depiction. Results There was no significant difference in the visualization of the LSAs between HR-MRA and 3D-DSA (P values; M1, M2, and A1 = 0.39, 0.69, and 0.69, respectively), and both the number of stems and the localization of the origin of the LSAs corresponded between the two examinations. Conclusion HR-MRA at 3 T can depict the LSA well. It reveals the number of the LSA stems and the LSA origin comparatively with DSA.